In the early 1900's deer
were plentiful on the Hualapai Reservation. Tribal Members hunted deer
year round for sustenance and it had been stated that the reservation was
home to the largest deer in the world. At the time when Sterling Mahone
was Chairman for the Hualapai Tribe and Bill Andrews was Tribal
Councilman, the Tribal Council was selling 250-300 deer permits a year to
non-tribal members

Early in 1963, the
Hualapai Tribal Council started negotiations with the Arizona Game and
Fish Department on the advisability of transplanting elk on the
reservation north of Peach Springs.

Don Wingfield, Regional
Supervisor of Region III, was asked to represent the Arizona Game and fish
Department in the evaluation of the proposed site. At that time, it was
determined that approximately 55,000 acres of suitable elk habitat
existed. Wingfield submitted a report to the Phoenix Office of the Game
Department favoring the release.

Based on this report, the
Hualapai Tribe was granted permission by the Arizona Game and Fish
Commission to transport elk into Arizona from Wyoming. The Tribal Council
corresponded with Yellowstone National Park officials and was assured of
the desired number of elk.

Elk from the northern
Yellowstone National Park herd were trapped in December 1963 near Slough
Creek, Wyoming. They arrived at Peach Springs in a two-sectional
semi-trailer on December 22 after being in transit for 36 hours over 1,213
miles.

The original shipment
consisted of the 40 elk, however 3 adult cows died enroute and another
cow, weak from the long trip and from being trampled, died December 23.
The elk released consisted of 2 adult bulls, 5 spike bulls, 18 cows, 6 cow
calves, and 5 bull calves.

Those present at the
release were Sterling Mahone, Chairman of the Hualapai Tribal Council;
Grant Tapija, Jr., Council Member; Inez Tapija, Treasurer; Charles Bandy
and Norman Imus, Bureau of Indian Affairs; William Bailey and George
Welsh, Arizona Game and Fish Department; several Tribal members and
residents of Peach Springs.

Park Tanks, the release
site, is located approximately 30 miles northeast of Peach Springs at an
elevation of about 6,500 feet. The predominant overstory is ponderosa pine
with small pockets of Gambel oak. The mixed understory is cliff-rose,
mountain mahogany, ceanothus, turbinella oak, along with numerous forbs
and grasses. Two small burned areas and one large 14,000 acre burn are
located north and east of Park Tanks. The burns have been reseeded and
have good stands of grasses and forbs.

Water, normally abundant
in earthen tanks, could present a problem during severe droughts. This
situation is mitigated somewhat by approximately 60 miles of pipeline and
metal storage tanks, that occur within the present elk range. Water, then,
can be pumped from 2 pump house stations to the tanks.

This nucleus herd of 36
Rocky Mountain elk successfully expanded their numbers and range enough
that the Tribe saw the need to hire a wildlife manager. Monroe Beecher,
who was working for 427 Operating Engineers, was the only one to respond
to the Tribeís job announcement for someone to oversee the Wildlife
Department. The Tribe initiated their first public hunt in 1971. Ten
permits were authorized at $100.00 each; six were sold and four bull elk
harvested.

In 1987, Edgar Walema,
Tribal Councilman, initiated the P.L. 98-638 process to separate the
responsibilities of Wildlife Conservation to Marketing and Management. In
1989, the Tribe developed a cooperative agreement to contract the Wildlife
Management Program from the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the amount of
$47,000. For the Tribeís Wildlife Management Department, the Tribe hired
Don Bay as the wildlife biologist who hired Clay Bravo and Travis Majenty
as the technicians.

Today, the Wildlife
Management Department has evolved into the Hualapai Department of Natural
Resources (HDNR). Under direction of the Department of Natural Resources,
the Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks Program manages the wildlife, its
habitats, and their predators.

Mission Statement

We recognize the
spiritual, cultural, and economic value of the wildlife and recreation
resources and that these resources are an irreplaceable tribal asset. We
also recognize that unregulated use of the wildlife and recreation
resources of the tribe would threaten the political integrity, economic
security, and health and welfare of the Hualapai Tribe. We will strive to
preserve, protect, and improve the tribes natural and recreation resources
so that tribal members and future generations shall be afforded the
greatest possible freedom to use and enjoy their Reservationís resources.

Goals and
Objectives

The goals of the
Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks Program, under direction of the Department
of Natural Resources, are to preserve and protect the natural resources of
the Hualapai Tribe. More specifically, the objectives of the Program are
to annually collect, sound reliable information that will assist the
Program in carrying out management plans and developing recommendations
concerning fish, wildlife, and outdoor recreation resources.

Objective 1: In coordination with HDNR, the Program, with Tribal Council
Approval, may negotiate with other agencies, public and private, to
conduct fish and wildlife research and cooperative management oriented
programs on the Hualapai Indian Reservation and adjacent lands and waters.
These interests may also include fisheries, forestry, range,
livestock, recreational development, mining, pesticides, and pollution of
air, water, and land.

Objective 2: Conduct annual surveys (big game inventories) to
determine big game herd composition and production ratios, annual game
bird production surveys, big gameutilization
and trend studies, population age structures, genetics, define key areas
of game use, analyze harvested animals and numbers taken and review all
other project proposals which may affect wildlife populations.